ENG 111 College CompositionLori Johnson

Unit 2 – Expository Writing – Collecting Data for a Movie Review

Use this worksheet to collect the data you will need to write your review of Twelve Angry Men.

First segment (Chapter 1-3 on the disc, 0-15:46)

1.In the first minute and 13 seconds, the camera enters into the courthouse and follows a few people around. What do you notice about the way the courthouse is depicted? What do you notice about the people the camera follows? Why are we shown these people?

2. Starting at 1:47, when the camera pans over the jury, and going to 10:23, when the deliberations start, we get a chance to see the different jury members in a casual situation. Do any of them stand out to you? Who do you think will be a good jury member? Who won’t?

3. What reasons does Henry Fonda originally give for voting not guilty? Are they good reasons?

4. At 14:20 Juror 10 stands up and gives a speech about “them.” “I’ve lived among them all my life,” he says. Who is he talking about?

Second Segment (Chapters 4–5, 15:46–30:10)

5.Starting at 15:46, the jurors start giving their reasons for thinking the defendant is guilty, starting with juror 1. Which of the jurors seem to have good reasons for their judgment and which don’t?

6.At around 21 minutes, juror 3 gives a speech about children and his son. What is significant about this speech?

7.At 24 minutes, Fonda gives a second speech about why he votes not guilty. Are his reasons different than the first time? Are they better?

8. At 28:50 Fonda introduces his own piece of evidence. Has he been holding back on the other jurors? What has he been holding back?

Third Segement

  1. At 32:40 there is a secret ballot which Fonda is a not a part of. Who do you think voted not guilty? (Answer before the answer is revealed at 33:48)
  1. What is the “soft sell” juror 7 is referring to in the bathroom? Does Henry Fonda have it?
  1. Does Fonda’s argument about the noise of the train going by for 10 seconds prove anything?
  1. Who in the discussion between Juror #11 (the watchmaker) and Juror #4 (the stockbroker) at about 49 minutes, who is reasoning clearly, #11, #4, both, or neither?
  1. 52 minutes: Juror #11 says he doesn’t have to explain his vote to Juror #3. Is that true? Does he owe anyone an explanation?
  1. 54:35 Why does Juror #3 stop short after he says “how can he be positive about anything?”
  1. 59:18 Why does Fonda call #3 a sadist? Is he loosing his cool? Is he trying to manipulate someone?

8. Is the fact that Juror #4 can’t remember the second feature he saw on Monday evidence for anything?

9. Can you find three indications that Juror #4 is feeling stress in his conversation with Fonda about what movies he saw?

10. At an hour 17 minutes, why is Juror #11 suddenly saying that people do have to explain their votes?

11. Also at an hour 17 minutes, there are now three guilty votes. Do you think that any of them are being reasonable?

12. After Juror #10 completely embarrasses himself, Henry Fonda gives a speech that starts by saying prejudice always obscures the truth and ends by asking why the three hold outs so sure he is guilty. What are the major points Fonda makes in this speech?

13. The jury suddenly convinces itself that the female witness had two small indentations on either side of her nose, a fact which they had not thought about before. Can they have really seen this? Could they be fooling themselves into thinking they remember it?

14. Is the boy guilty?